Chapter 51 (Final check at 9:00 AM 12/11/10. Looks complete.)
Part 1
Behavioral ecology- the study of animal behavior by studying how such behavior is controlled and how it develops, evolves, and contributes to survival and reproductive success.
Behavior- everything an animal does and how it does it.
proximate question- what environmental stimuli trigger an action ultimate questions- the evolutionary significance of a behavior.
Ethology- the study of how animals behave, especially in their natural habitat.
Fixed action patterns - unlearned behavioral acts that are unchangeable and once started, are done until completed
Imprinting- type of behavior that includes learning and innate components and is usually random movement imprinting stimulus- what an animal is imprinted to.
sensitive period - a period of time that an animal can learn certain behaviors and actions Innate behavior- behavior is natural and doesn’t have to be learned.
genetic and environmental factors
affect animal behavior
and are interconnected
ex. a day being longer has little significance for the red- crown cranes but since it corresponds to seasonal conditions, this environmental factor helps increase reproductive success, like being able to find food for the young. This environmental factor then translates to a genetic factor because all red- crown cranes then pick spring and summer to reproduce.
Part 2
Directed Movements · Many animal movements are under substantial genetic influence · They are referred to as directed movements because of the clear role of genes in the control of these animal movements · Kinesis o Definition: a simple change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus o Random movement · Taxis o Definition: a more or less automatic, oriented movement toward (a positive taxis) or away from (a negative taxis) some stimulus o Movement with a purpose · Migration o Genetic influence can be substantial in simple and complex behaviors o More involved than taxis and kinesis
Animal Signals and Communication · Much of the social interaction between animals involves transmitting information through specialized behaviors called signals · Signal= a behavior that causes a change in another animals behavior · Communication= the transmission of, reception of, and response to a signal · Communication is an essential element of interactions between individuals · The environment makes significant contributions to all communication systems, some of their features are under strong genetic control · Many signals are very efficient in energy costs · Animals communicate using visual, auditory, chemical (olfactory), tactile, and electrical signals · The type of signal used to transmit information is closely related to an animal’s lifestyle and environment · Chemical Communication o Many animals communicate through pheromones o Pheromones=odors that emit chemical substances o Both the production of pheromones and animal responses to them are controlled genetically o Pheromones are especially common among mammals and insects and often relate to reproductive behavior o Pheromones also function in nonreproductive behavior o Pheromones can be very effective at low concentrations · Auditory Communication o In many species of insects, mating rituals include characteristic songs that are generally under direct genetic control o Some insect species can be identified only through their courtship songs or behavior
Genetic Influences on Mating and Parental Behavior · Behavioral research has uncovered a variety of mammalian behaviors aht are under relatively strong genetic control, as well as the physiological mechanisms for these behaviors · Although genes influence behaviors in a multitude of ways environment also has major effects on behaviors
Environment, interaction with an animal’s genetic makeup, influences the development of behaviors · While experimental demonstrations of genetic influences on behaviors accumulate, search also reveals that environmental conditions modify many of the same behaviors · Environmental factors, such as the quality of the diet, the nature of social interactions, and opportunities for learning can influence the development of behaviors in every group of animals · Dietary Influence on Mate Choice Behavior o The effects of the nutritional environment can modify a critical behavior · Social Environment and Aggressive Behavior o “Cross-fostering” is when the young of one species is placed into the nests of other species o Cross-fostering alters the behavior of both species o Experience during development can lead to changes in parental and aggressive behaviors in different animals that can be passed from one generation to the next
Part 3
Spatial learning is the modification of a behavior based on an animal’s experience with the spatial structure of the environment. Niko Tinbergen conducted an experiment on wasps. The nest that the wasp had made was surrounded by a circle of pine cones. Tinbergen moved the pine cones and discovered that the wasp still landed in the center even though the nest was not there.
A cognitive map is an internal representation of all the objects in an animal’s surroundings and their relationships to one another. Once an animal goes through spatial learning and learns where it is in relation to other objects it can create its own cognitive map.
Associative learning is an animal’s ability to associate one feature of its environment with another, such as an animal coming in contact with a skunk and then associating the colors black and white with a skunk’s stench.
Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning in which an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment. An example of this would be a dog being fed at the sound of the bell.
Operant conditioning is a type of associative learning in which an animal associates a reward or punishment with one of its behaviors and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior. An example of this would be giving your dog a treat every time he uses the bathroom outside.
Habituation is a loss of responsiveness to stimuli that are irrelevant.
Cognition is the ability an animal’s nervous system has to perceive, store, process, and use information that it has gathered from sensory receptors. Cognition helps us study the connection between an animal’s nervous system and its behavior.
Part 4
Natural selection means that the environment will select certain traits or characteristics that benefit an organism and that those organisms will survive to reproduce (and therefore pass on that beneficial trait). Two main behavioral differences in populations are prey selection and aggressive behavior.
Foraging is behavior that is associated with recognizing, searching for, capturing, and consuming food. Predators are a major risk to foraging. Animals also have to learn in what environments to forage so that they do not put themselves at risk of being eaten. An animal also considers the amount of energy it will take to receive its food, and they then have to weigh whether or not it’s worth it.
The types of mating relationships
monogamous or polygamous
polygamous relationships
polygyny- when there is one male and many females polyandry, when there is one female and many males.
Determining relationship types- NEED FOR YOUNG Every generation needs the generation above to take care of them can’t happen if there aren’t enough animals in the species Agnostic behavior- a ritualized contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource, like food or mates Ex. three male sponges- mating rituals are subject to the ratio of male to female. The sponges were equally successful in mating in some female densities, but in some they were unsuccessful.
Altruism · Some animals do behave in ways that reduce their individual fitness but increase the fitness of other individuals in the population= function definition of altruism · Altruism= selflessness · When a squirrel sees a predator approach, it alerts other animals by giving off a high-pitched alarm. When the other animals hear this alarm they retreat back to their safety place · This helps species survive because the high-pitched alarms alert animals that a predator is near so they don’t become food and therefore less die and their species can live longer.
Evolution and Human Culture · Human culture is related to evolutionary theory in the discipline o sociobiology · Sociobiology’s main premise is that certain behavioral characteristics exist because they are expressions of genes that have been perpetuated by natural selection · The spectrum of possible human social behaviors may be influenced by our genetic makeup, but this is very different from saying that genes are rigid determinants of behavior
Part 1
Behavioral ecology- the study of animal behavior by studying how such behavior is controlled and how it develops, evolves, and contributes to survival and reproductive success.
Behavior- everything an animal does and how it does it.
proximate question- what environmental stimuli trigger an action ultimate questions- the evolutionary significance of a behavior.
Ethology- the study of how animals behave, especially in their natural habitat.
Fixed action patterns - unlearned behavioral acts that are unchangeable and once started, are done until completed
Imprinting- type of behavior that includes learning and innate components and is usually random movement imprinting stimulus- what an animal is imprinted to.
sensitive period - a period of time that an animal can learn certain behaviors and actions Innate behavior- behavior is natural and doesn’t have to be learned.
genetic and environmental factors
affect animal behavior
and are interconnected
ex. a day being longer has little significance for the red- crown cranes but since it corresponds to seasonal conditions, this environmental factor helps increase reproductive success, like being able to find food for the young. This environmental factor then translates to a genetic factor because all red- crown cranes then pick spring and summer to reproduce.
Part 2
Directed Movements· Many animal movements are under substantial genetic influence
· They are referred to as directed movements because of the clear role of genes in the control of these animal movements
· Kinesis
o Definition: a simple change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus
o Random movement
· Taxis
o Definition: a more or less automatic, oriented movement toward (a positive taxis) or away from (a negative taxis) some stimulus
o Movement with a purpose
· Migration
o Genetic influence can be substantial in simple and complex behaviors
o More involved than taxis and kinesis
Animal Signals and Communication
· Much of the social interaction between animals involves transmitting information through specialized behaviors called signals
· Signal= a behavior that causes a change in another animals behavior
· Communication= the transmission of, reception of, and response to a signal
· Communication is an essential element of interactions between individuals
· The environment makes significant contributions to all communication systems, some of their features are under strong genetic control
· Many signals are very efficient in energy costs
· Animals communicate using visual, auditory, chemical (olfactory), tactile, and electrical signals
· The type of signal used to transmit information is closely related to an animal’s lifestyle and environment
· Chemical Communication
o Many animals communicate through pheromones
o Pheromones=odors that emit chemical substances
o Both the production of pheromones and animal responses to them are controlled genetically
o Pheromones are especially common among mammals and insects and often relate to reproductive behavior
o Pheromones also function in nonreproductive behavior
o Pheromones can be very effective at low concentrations
· Auditory Communication
o In many species of insects, mating rituals include characteristic songs that are generally under direct genetic control
o Some insect species can be identified only through their courtship songs or behavior
Genetic Influences on Mating and Parental Behavior
· Behavioral research has uncovered a variety of mammalian behaviors aht are under relatively strong genetic control, as well as the physiological mechanisms for these behaviors
· Although genes influence behaviors in a multitude of ways environment also has major effects on behaviors
Environment, interaction with an animal’s genetic makeup, influences the development of behaviors
· While experimental demonstrations of genetic influences on behaviors accumulate, search also reveals that environmental conditions modify many of the same behaviors
· Environmental factors, such as the quality of the diet, the nature of social interactions, and opportunities for learning can influence the development of behaviors in every group of animals
· Dietary Influence on Mate Choice Behavior
o The effects of the nutritional environment can modify a critical behavior
· Social Environment and Aggressive Behavior
o “Cross-fostering” is when the young of one species is placed into the nests of other species
o Cross-fostering alters the behavior of both species
o Experience during development can lead to changes in parental and aggressive behaviors in different animals that can be passed from one generation to the next
Part 3
Part 4
- Natural selection means that the environment will select certain traits or characteristics that benefit an organism and that those organisms will survive to reproduce (and therefore pass on that beneficial trait). Two main behavioral differences in populations are prey selection and aggressive behavior.
- Foraging is behavior that is associated with recognizing, searching for, capturing, and consuming food. Predators are a major risk to foraging. Animals also have to learn in what environments to forage so that they do not put themselves at risk of being eaten. An animal also considers the amount of energy it will take to receive its food, and they then have to weigh whether or not it’s worth it.
The types of mating relationshipsmonogamous or polygamous
polygamous relationships
polygyny- when there is one male and many females polyandry, when there is one female and many males.
Determining relationship types- NEED FOR YOUNG Every generation needs the generation above to take care of them can’t happen if there aren’t enough animals in the species Agnostic behavior- a ritualized contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource, like food or mates Ex. three male sponges- mating rituals are subject to the ratio of male to female. The sponges were equally successful in mating in some female densities, but in some they were unsuccessful.
Altruism
· Some animals do behave in ways that reduce their individual fitness but increase the fitness of other individuals in the population= function definition of altruism
· Altruism= selflessness
· When a squirrel sees a predator approach, it alerts other animals by giving off a high-pitched alarm. When the other animals hear this alarm they retreat back to their safety place
· This helps species survive because the high-pitched alarms alert animals that a predator is near so they don’t become food and therefore less die and their species can live longer.
Evolution and Human Culture
· Human culture is related to evolutionary theory in the discipline o sociobiology
· Sociobiology’s main premise is that certain behavioral characteristics exist because they are expressions of genes that have been perpetuated by natural selection
· The spectrum of possible human social behaviors may be influenced by our genetic makeup, but this is very different from saying that genes are rigid determinants of behavior